Pertaining to that which arouses sensitivity to beauty and emotion, as opposed to the practical, intellectual, or scientific. An aesthetic response is an appreciation of such beauty, and an aesthete is a person who subscribes to this philosophy and regards themselves as having special sensitivity to beauty.
The Aesthetic Movement began in the late 19th century in England with leaders being Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley. The slogan was “Art for Art’s Sake” meaning being that conveying a sense of beauty superseded all social and moral considerations.
The word aesthetic is derived from the Greek “aisthetika”, meaning perceptibles.